Island Dispatch, 2008-10-17

              Island Dispatch €sibbcl Island Memorial Library Niagara | Frontier ' Publications Far Home Delivery of the island Dispatch Call 773-7676 Special Edition proud publishers of 4 Island Dispatch ' Lewiston-Porfer Sentinel Grand Island Penny Saver Niagara-Wheatfield Tribune wvrw.wnypapers.com llppf 773-7676 $1.00 Vol. 64 No. 31 October 17,2008 32 Pages Mmmm! Veggies! page 12 Social page 13 Above & Beyond page 16 Inside The Dispatch Church 6 School 10 : Sports 22 Classifieds 26 Crossword 27 Service Directory 3J Picture Page 32 Erie County Government Collins delivers budget Calls 2009 fiscal plan 'fiscally sound' Saying the taxpayers elected him to run Erie County like a $1 billion business, Erie County Executive Chris Collins unveiled a recommended 2009 county budget that he called "fiscally sound and responsibly conservative." Moreover, Collins said the budget "does not rely on budgetary tricks to meet objectives." Collins released his 2009 recommended budget Wednesday. In his plan, the average homeowner will see a property tax increase of $18 on a $100,000 home, Collins estimates. He said his plan is below or on par with increases in other counties of the state. Collins also noted the gray eco- nomic skies on the horizon and said the nation's economy, record losses on Wall Street and state budget deficits is putting pressure on local government and taxpayers. "Sales tax growth has slowed as the national economy impacts local pocketbooks," Collins wrote in his budget preview. 'To be prudent, I am taking the historic step of forecasting 0 percent growth in sales tax collection for 2009 compared to our estimate of 2008 actual sales tax collection. This responsibly conservative approach will ensure that Erie County will not be negatively impacted in future months if the economy continues to struggle Meaghan Grotz laid to rest Wednesday Meaghan A, Grotz of Grand Island, whose efforts to receive a lung transplant galvanized her hometown community, passed away on Oct. 10. Grotz died Friday of complications of pneumonia nearly four years after receiving the transplant. Funeral services were Wednesday. It was four years ago that fund- raisers were held throughout the Grand Island community in support of the Meaghan's Miracle Fund, which raised money to cover the enormous medical bills incurred by the surgery. In a letter to the Island Dispatch in March l of 2004, Grotz, then 16, wrote about her battle with cystic fibrosis and her need for a double lung transplant to prolong her life. Prior to the transplant, Grotz wrote, she required supplemental oxygen 24 hours a day and had less than a quarter of the lung capacity of a normal person."Since initial diagnosis at birth, I have worked daily with my family and doctors to stay one step ahead of this condition," she wrote. "I have learned to live with cystic fibrosis and thrive. I have endured hospital stays, daily medication, daily physical therapy, invasive procedures and other inconveniences that would make a lesser spirit fold," she wrote. "I refuse to fold, and look forward to the day when I can take my first deep breath with a new set of lungs. It might be a moment, a day, or a week, but I plan on breathing with those lungs when I walk back into the school to start my senior year of high school in the fall of 2004, and then I plan on breaming with those lungs for the rest of my life." She waited some seven months for a life-saving transplant until she received the call in November of 2004. Grotz immediately flew to Pittsburgh as soon as donor lungs became available and went through more than nine hours of surgery. Despite her condition, she graduated with her class at Grand Island High School in June of 2005. Meaghan Grotz GI Fire Co. responds at 2 vehicle accidents Sunday by Ray Pauley 1 dead, 2 others injured in separate incidents Public Information Officer Grand Island Fire Co. and Erie County Sheriff's Department reports The Grand Island Fire Co. and Erie County Sheriffs Department responded to two serious motor vehicle accidents on the Island Sunday, one of which took the life of a Grand Island man. The first accident occurred shortly before 2 p.m., when a 13--year-old boy riding a bicycle southbound on Grand Island Boulevard reportedly crossed the road and into the path of a motorcycle in the vicinity of 1970 Grand Island Blvd. G.I. Fire Co. Chief Greg Butcher said the bicyclist, of Grand Island, was unconscious and unresponsive when given ALS treatment by GIFC medics prior to his transport to Children's Hospital in Buffalo with a severe head injury. The operator of the motorcycle, Mark Wolbert, 31, of Northeast Pennsylvania, was treated for upper body injuries, stabilized and transported to Erie County Medical Center for treatment of head abrasions. Shortly thereafter, at 3:37 p.m., GIFC rescue personnel responded to a one-car motor vehicle accident at 826 Whitehaven Road. Timothy E Weczerek, 29, of Grand Island, reportedly lost controlcontrol of his van while driving westbound on Whitehaven Road. He crossed over two lanes of traffic and a roadside ditch on the south side of the road before his van flipped on its side. Sheriffs deputies reported he was not wearing a seatbelt and was partially ejected. The van came to rest on him, pinning him underneath. Butcher called in a Sheridan Park Volunteer Fire Department extrication team to assist in freeing the victim. Meanwhile, onthe-scene efforts to revive him proved to be unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at the scene by the county medical examiner. The driver was later identified at the medical examiner's office by family members. All GIFC and mutual aid units returned in service by 6:47 p.m. after ECSD accident investigators were provided with technical assistance.A fund has been established for Weczerek's four children. Anyone who would like to donate to the Weczerek Children's Fund can do so at any M&T Bank branch. •State Police are investigating a fatal motor vehicle accident that occurred on 1-190 in the northbound lanes at the apex of the North Grand Island Bridge. The accident happened at A severely damaged vehicle rests on its side following a one-car accident on Whitehaven Road Sunday, (photo by A.J. Beyer/Grand Island Fire Co.] SEE FOUR, continued on page 3 SEE GIMMICKS, continued on page 3 Visit The Haunted House at -I ' m""m ~"~J£ ----- ~~~ "~""~ "" " " ""! I Linda Kutzbtxh KMl|ri '""'-"■ —-^1 * "fcs*. The Summit Mall, beginning ' , < fVIOfICfdV i as»»b,oi», wWntmri. 1 •Jfijlfe. Saturday, October nth - <S «*V»»»*«jr 628-1719 EffJ /19J3 Things to I Open on frightful Fridays from 6-% ~** JWaGffIGSS 773-2573 ' E4| J ff*&*«mll Spooky Saturdaysfroml-4&6-9&ScarySundap j <6j§XisOSl) ' **.«.=* — 1 rOT<"s,and ff JH / #,!,Home- I IWillilllllfj from HthroughOrtoherSlst!'**#«»- . : - Sfl7s "ufustax ■ §#>%; ■J™ma / «f,A,ra # MVHAHW - , 2131 Grand island Blvd. '•" I www.linclakulzbach.com / "f'[^keeslre / ,^^|^P'Food Item to be Donated to a Local Charity. 77A«f)f)9f) " "'4 I iPWc s«*»»*r—v -^.^rf"g Other 9 / UIII FMEim*Jflni JI PWWHffi JH I EWJjTgi «_■■"■'*#*#«■»# NotvalMw* any other offers. Expires 1001/08 1, North owma & <n»rai»<i ' i mmm2y